BBC 6 Music
Part l: Key characteristics of the service
1. Remit
The remit of BBC 6 Music is to entertain lovers of popular music with a service that
celebrates the alternative spirit in popular music from the 1960s to the present day.
Its programmes juxtapose current releases outside the mainstream with earlier
recordings, including music from the BBC Sound Archive. It should provide context
for the music it plays, and support live music and new artists.
2. Scope of the Licence
BBC 6 Music should be available every day for general reception in the UK on DAB
digital radio and digital television platforms and it may be simulcast on the internet.
It may also offer its broadcast content on fixed and mobile internet protocol
networks or via other platforms1. On the same platforms, it may allow users
retrospectively or prospectively via pre-booking to stream multiple episodes of first-
run series (known as ‘series stacking’)2 until a date no later than seven days after the
last episode in the relevant series. This includes series where there is a break in
scheduling between sub-sections of the series. The aggregate volume of such "series
stacked" content must represent no more than 15% of all content offered on-
demand.
The service may offer its programmes streamed on-demand for a limited period after
broadcast.3 It may also offer broadcast radio content for download for an unlimited
period of time after broadcast, although this must not include unabridged readings of
published works nor full track commercial music nor classical music (even if recorded
1 Provision by particular providers over certain platforms has been specifically approved by the Trust in
its On-Demand public value test of April 2007. Content may also in future be syndicated to other
providers and platforms over the internet, in accordance with the Trust’s Syndication Policy for BBC
on-demand content.
2 The Trust’s guidelines for which programmes may be included in series stacking are those where the
series has a distinct run, with a beginning and an end and a clear ‘narrative arc’ or those with
exceptionally high impact. These should cover a broad range of programmes, in terms of genre and
appeal.
3 BBC 6 Music currently offers a limited amount of mainly speech content on-demand for an unlimited
time period after initial broadcast. Any expansion of the scope of this requires the approval of the
BBC Trust.
by the BBC)4, and other interactive station and programme-related content via
bbc.co.uk. Broadcast audio programmes may be visually enhanced.5
4 Download of classical music in the form of incidental music, signature tunes or clips of up to two
minutes duration within speech based programmes with a specifically musical theme is permitted
5 This may include video related to output created for BBC broadcast, but should not include the
commercial purchase of unrelated video rights.
3. Budget
BBC 6 Music has an annual service budget of £7.4 million.
Any planned or actual change in annual expenditure on the service of more than 10%
in real value requires approval from the BBC Trust and may entail variation of this
Service Licence. This parameter of change is set to allow variations in spending which
arise from regular, cyclical factors such as spending on major sports events, a
reasonable level of operational flexibility (e.g. programme scheduling) and changes in
accounting policy. Allowing for these factors, the Trust may judge that planned or
actual change in annual expenditure of less than 10% should require its approval if the
implications of this are significant for the character of the service or its market.
4. Overview of aims and objectives
BBC 6 Music programmes should exhibit some or all of the following characteristics:
high quality, original, challenging, innovative and engaging, and it should nurture UK
talent.
BBC 6 Music should deliver its remit by engaging people who are interested in music
and who want to learn more about it. Its music should focus on major artists and
material which do not receive much support from other radio stations. It should offer
a wide selection of music with new music, live music, less familiar tracks and the work
of UK artists substantially represented in its output.
There should be a strong element of newly recorded and archive live music in
daytime and in the evenings. Tracks, sessions and concerts from the BBC Sound
Archive should provide an important element of the output and the station should
add recordings of festivals, concerts and its own sessions to the archive.
The station should add context to the music through authoritative presentation,
features and documentaries which aim to develop an understanding of the music and
its context, or reflect the inter-dependence of musical and social trends. The schedule
should offer regular music news bulletins during daytime programmes, and the station
should also provide in-depth coverage and analysis of developments in popular music
through features and documentaries. Other aspects of popular culture should also be
explored.
BBC 6 Music should provide high quality content that encourages radio listening via
digital platforms. The broadcast output should be supported by a complementary
online service, including some use of visual enhancements, and listeners should be
encouraged to interact and communicate with the station. BBC 6 Music should use
new technology to ensure its audiences have the maximum opportunity to access
programmes as and when they want.
BBC 6 Music should contribute to BBC Radio’s commitment to commission some
output from independent producers.
6 Either unreleased or less than one month since release date (physical release, not download release)
7 Excludes repeats
Part II: Contribution to public value
5. Contribution to the promotion of the BBC’s public purposes
5.1 Stimulating creativity and cultural excellence
BBC 6 Music should make a very important contribution to this purpose amongst its
audience. The service should reflect the evolution of popular music through extensive
use of the BBC archive. It should reflect the breadth of work produced by iconic
artists, including a high proportion of less familiar tracks. 6 Music should aim to
provide different music to that played on other radio stations. It should minimise the
number of tracks played in daytime, including new tracks, which are also played on
Radio 1, Radio 2 or comparable commercial radio stations in a typical week.
It should support major artists still producing new material but who no longer receive
significant airplay on other UK radio stations.
It should focus on new music, particularly that made by UK artists, prioritising less
familiar acts who may become enduring icons in the future but who do not enjoy
commercial support, thus demonstrating its independence from commercial interests.
New artists should also be substantially represented in BBC 6 Music’s support for live
music.
It should provide a comprehensive view of popular music activity through music news
bulletins and reports on the industry, festivals, new developments and artists’
recordings.
Conditions
BBC 6 Music should:
• Ensure that no more than 30% of all music played each year is new6
• Broadcast at least 400 hours of archive concert performances each year
• Ensure that at least 15% of music broadcast is concert tracks and sessions
from the BBC’s music archive each year
• Broadcast at least 300 new sessions7 each year
• Contribute to BBC Radio’s commitment to commission at least 10% of
eligible hours of output from independent producers
5.2 Promoting education and learning
8 Includes repeats
9 With flexibility for holiday periods and occasional special schedule changes
BBC 6 Music should make an important contribution to this purpose amongst its
audience. It should significantly extend the range of music available to its audiences
and aim to increase understanding through the context it provides for the music it
plays with regular documentary slots during the week.
With its own social action campaigns and its support for pan-BBC social action
initiatives, the station should give audiences practical opportunities for personal
development.
Conditions
BBC 6 Music should:
• Feature at least 10 hours a week of speech-based features, documentaries
and essays on average across the year8
5.3 Sustaining citizenship and civil society
BBC 6 Music should make a contribution to this purpose amongst its audience. Its
schedule should offer regular bulletins of accurate and impartial news. The context
BBC 6 Music supplies for the music it plays should explore the relationship between
music and society.
Conditions
BBC 6 Music should:
• Broadcast at least 6 hours of news each week9
5.4 Reflecting the UK’s nations, regions and communities
BBC 6 Music should make a contribution to this purpose amongst its audience by
stimulating, supporting and reflecting the diversity of cultural activity in the UK, within
the defined remit of the service. Its live music coverage and its coverage of music
festivals should reflect activity throughout the UK.
Through its broadcasts and its online presence, BBC 6 Music should facilitate and
support the growth of communities of interest in the music it plays.
5.5 Bringing the UK to the world and the world to the UK
BBC 6 Music should play its part in contributing to this purpose amongst its audience,
primarily by bringing the world to the UK in its coverage of international music
events and the international scope of its music news and documentaries.
5.6 Emerging communications
The BBC’s sixth public purpose is defined in the Charter as "in promoting its other
purposes, helping to deliver to the public the benefit of emerging communications
technologies and services and, in addition, taking a leading role in the switchover to
digital television".
BBC 6 Music should contribute to the promotion of this purpose in a variety of ways
which are described in this Service Licence.
6. Annexes to this Licence
6.1 Annex I – Performance assessment
The performance of BBC 6 Music will be assessed by the Trust using the framework
described in Annex I. BBC 6 Music’s compliance with any Conditions, as described in
section 5, will also be measured on an annual basis and reported in the Annual Report
and Accounts.
The BBC Trust will expect BBC 6 Music to comply with the commitments described
in sections 4 and 5 of the Service Licence. The BBC Trust will monitor compliance
with these commitments retrospectively as part of its periodic service reviews and/or
on an exceptional basis if there is evidence or allegation of non-compliance.
7. Operation of this Service Licence by the BBC Trust
For details of how the BBC Trust operates this Service Licence, please see the
Service Licence Operating Framework. This is available from www.bbc.co.uk/bbctrust
or upon request from the BBC Trust Unit.
10 Charter, article 24 (c)
11 Agreement, clause 14
12 For all BBC services
13 Including repeats
Annex I: Performance measurement framework
Introduction
The BBC Trust has the function of assessing the performance of the Executive Board
in delivering the BBC’s services and activities and holding the Executive Board to
account for its performance.10 It will use the framework described below as the basis
for its assessment of BBC 6 Music.
The framework is based around the four drivers of public value: Reach, Quality,
Impact and Value for money and it includes measurement of the five content
characteristics, as described in the BBC Agreement11: high quality, challenging,
original, innovative and engaging.
The Trust can amend this framework without this constituting formal variation to this
Service Licence.
Performance measurement framework
Reach: BBC 6 Music should contribute towards the maintenance of combined BBC
weekly reach12 at over 90% by aiming to increase its own weekly reach.
It should contribute towards on-demand consumption of content. This will be
measured by weekly reach of non-DRM audio downloads over the internet.
Quality: audience approval of BBC 6 Music and perceptions of it as high quality and
innovative. Also, the proportion of originated programmes across all hours.13
Impact: licence fee payer awareness of BBC 6 Music and audience perceptions of BBC
6 Music as engaging and challenging.
Value for money: BBC 6 Music’s cost per listener hour.